


we should be friends

by geneticallymutatedglitter



Category: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Cute Bram is Cute, Fluff, Icebreakers, M/M, Pre-Relationship, soccer calves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 19:16:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16203941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geneticallymutatedglitter/pseuds/geneticallymutatedglitter
Summary: "You never really know what he's thinking. But I have this theory that Bram's probably really funny inside his own head. I don't even know why I think that.But seriously: whatever inside jokes he has with himself, I think I'd like to be in on them."A series of moments where Simon notices Bram.





	we should be friends

I have decided that freshman year sucks. Well, it sucks less than middle school for what it’s worth, I don’t have to take the bus in the morning anymore since Alice drives. Although I can’t decide if she’s giving me a pep talk or trying to scare me.

“Everything is much bigger than in middle school so don’t get lost.”

“Do people get lost often? Like, that’s a thing? Because if I could get lost never to be found again that would be pretty sweet.”

Alice rolls her eyes at me. “Okay, bub. You do that.”

The most tiresome thing about the first day is all of those dumb icebreaker activities. I already know everyone, I don’t need to know about their summer or whatever it is we’re talking about. By third period I’m completely over it. I zone out and mindlessly doodle spirals all over my notebook. Like I get it, Taylor Metternich went a cruise and that’s why she’s so tan. Full offense, she is  _ actually _ orange. For her sake, I hope it fades nicely and we never have to think about her tan again. I only tune back in when I notice a kid I’ve never seen before introduce himself to the class.

“I’m Bram Greenfeld. I, uh, just moved here from Savannah. Um, I saw a soccer match at the stadium. That’s about it...” He awkwardly sits back down and stares at his desk. I can’t imagine leaving all my friends behind and not knowing anyone. I also notice he’s wearing a nice plaid shirt that accents his skin tone well. Lost in my thoughts, I don’t notice it’s my turn until Leah elbows me.

“Ah!” I stand up abruptly. “I’m Simon Spier and this summer my family went to Disney World!” Yikes. And you would think I get to fade back into the background here. All eyes are on me and I wish I could dissolve into the ground.

“Spier? Are you Alice’s brother?” Mr. Donoghue asks, gluing me to the spot and prolonging my torture.

“Oh, um, yeah,” I reply awkwardly.

“Excellent, I look forward to having you in class. Do tell Alice I said hello.”   
“Y-yes sir.”

So, yeah. Freshman year sucks and I've just made a fool of myself.

~~~

The orchestra and choir concert is coming up in a few weeks so we head to the band room to rehearse the song we sing with the orchestra. I'm mostly just excited to hear the whole thing together. Because the stage isn't set up yet, we shuffle into the empty space behind the orchestra kids.

I end up standing behind Bram. Apparently he plays the violin. I'm actually quite curious to hear him play.

First we do a run through of the entire piece with the orchestra director conducting us. I'm actually more interested in watching the violinists in front of me. Specifically Bram; he's directly in my line of sight. His hands are moving across the neck with grace. It reminds me of Nick fingering the frets on his guitar, although I doubt Bram uses his violin skills to impress girls. I, however, am definitely impressed. His hands are mesmerizing. I bet he could be first chair by senior year. Hopefully he'll have grown into himself by then and he won't be so quiet.

After a while, the orchestra teacher is focusing on the cellos to perfect their section. I take this opportunity to try and strike up a conversation with Bram. He jumps when I tap his shoulder so we're off to a good start.

“Hey, I didn't know you played violin,” I start casually.

“Oh, uh, yeah…” 

“You’re really good, how long have you been playing?”

“S-since third… grade,” he stammers out.

“Whoa, that's a long time.”

“Yeah…”

“I bet you'll be first chair by the time we're seniors,” I shoot him a thumbs up.

“You think so?” Bram has a look of disbelief on his face. I only have time to nod my head because they want all of us to start at the pick up to measure 63.

The night of the concert quickly arrives and Nick and I are messing around in the choir room before it starts. Nick is mooning over Amy Everett and I honestly want to vomit. I wish Leah were here so she could join in my misery. It's really hard not to roll my eyes every time Nick misses what I said just because he's staring at Amy. Like we get it. You're shamelessly straight, can we move on?

Apparently not.

Although the sight of Garrett Laughlin catches my attention. I didn't expect to see him here, especially since he's not part of the music program. I never pegged him as the type to come to one of these things. Heck, I hardly want to be here myself and I'm in it.

It seems that Garrett has spotted us and is making his way over with Bram trailing behind him.

“Yo, what's uuuup?” One of these days I'll figure out where his jubilant energy comes from and I'll harness that power. Wow, I sound like an enemy from one of the animes that Leah likes.

Garrett and Nick are talking about something that I'm making no effort to follow.

“Hey, are you nervous?” I ask Bram and I see his shoulders tense. Poor guy, I seriously hope he grows out of this jumpiness. It doesn't look fun. His attire, on the other hand, looks amazing. I mean, we all have to wear a suit and tie the school provided us with but his looks especially dapper.

“Ah, no…” Bram manages to get out.

“Oh that makes sense. You do get to hide behind your stand.” I nod my head. “I bet my face is going to do something stupid that I'll never live down.”

I manage to get a chuckle out of Bram and honestly I consider that an accomplishment.

“I-I mean. It's like.” I see Bram clench his fist and huff out a breath like it's physically hard to get the words out. I wait for him to continue. “We're like. Half-time entertainment.”

I'm not sure I'm following his train of thought. I guess I look perplexed because Bram powers on with an explanation. “The orchestra… is in the middle. Of the concert. It's like half time at football games.”

I burst out laughing. “Oooooh. Oh my god. You're so right.” Bram smiles at me. “There's like so many sections of the choir that we really overpower the orchestra’s presence, don't we?”

Bram nods his head.

“Oh shit. I gotta go get my seat, y'all are going to be starting soon,” Garrett waves a short goodbye as the orchestra and choir directors tell us to get in position.

Honestly with all of the constant moving, I lowkey regret joining choir. On the plus side, Nick is next to me the entire time so when we're sitting down we can silently goof off. The longest we have to remain seated is during the orchestra’s segment. I think about Bram's earlier comment about the half-time entertainment and l lean over to whisper to Nick.

“Huh. I never thought about it like that…” Nick whispers back.

“Right? In this scenario we're the football players and I'm literally the worst at sports.”

Incidentally, I end up having a good view of Bram's profile. He seems like an entirely different person. Much more… confident. That would be the word for this change. You can really tell that he is in his element and he knows what he’s doing. It’s a little weird to see because he’s so quiet and doesn’t look sure of himself whenever I see him. I suppose it’s dependent on the context, but damn. The music doesn’t sound bad either and I must have gotten too caught up in it because Nick elbows me in the rib to bring me back to Earth.

~~~

I'm a good friend. I mean here I am with Leah cheering on the Creekwood soccer team. In all honesty, not the worst sport to spectate. I definitely do not understand the appeal but at least they don't stop every five seconds like in football and there's always something to be watching.

So who cares if the “something to be watching” is the soccer calves. I'm a shameless closeted gay man. I just can't be too obvious about it.  _ Damn. _

I take a sip from my water bottle. When I turn to look at Leah I can see how intently she's watching. I'm a little afraid honestly. We don't talk about crushes, like ever, but I can tell she likes Nick. What's not to like? Even  _ I  _ had a thing for him like two years ago.

Then again do middle school crushes even count? They're like middle school relationships, they aren't real. _ Snort _ . None of my relationships have been real. Actually I'm here because my girlfriend just dumped me. I'm trying to make it look like I'm distracting myself from my grief by hanging out with friends and avoiding the topic.

Carys is a good person and dating her was easy. We never went beyond holding hands and light kisses. I really don't think I could handle making out with a girl.

So yeah, soccer calves. I'd love to just stare at them all day…

“Simon!”

I snap back to reality.

“Oh, um, yes?” I cringe as I say it. I feel like I've just been caught doing something I shouldn't have.

“I saw you zoning out… is it about… you know?” Leah looks at me with genuine concern. Yikes. 

“Carys?” She tentatively nods her head. “I'm fine, really. To be honest, I wasn't, like, in love with her. It was casual and we both knew it wouldn't last.”

“Wow. Can't believe you just played with her feelings like that.”

Oh.

Oh no.

Is that what I've been doing? I mean, I knew she liked me initially so I just went with it. I didn't see it as messing with her emotions.

“Si, oh my god. Your face—” Leah's trying to contain her laughter. “I… I wasn't.. serious. Oh god. I was totally joking.”

Oh my god. Of course.

“You're mean.” I stick out my tongue at her. “I'm gonna ignore you and pay attention to our good friend Nick’s soccer match like the good person I am. Hrmh.”

“Okay, Simon. You do that.” She pats my shoulder and we resume watching the game.

And by watching the game, I mean Leah is watching the game and I'm watching their legs. No regrets.

I just. I can't even. They look  _ so good _ and it's  _ not fair. _ I am a weak gay and I want those legs wrapped around my torso. Those specific legs. They're like the most perfect legs I've ever seen.

Wait. Those legs belong to Bram Greenfeld. The quiet kid in my American History class. I feel blood rushing to my face. I had no idea he was hiding those legs from me.

Okay. Hang on. I'm not stupid, I knew he plays soccer. That's not why I'm surprised.

I'm just,  _ wow _ . His calves are on point. Who knew?

“Simon.”

“Hm?” But like seriously. Those legs should be illegal. Damn.

“Since when do you look all serious while watching sports?”  _ Caught. _

“Oh, you know. Thinking about break up stuff.”

“You looked like you were trying to figure out the mysteries of the world and this soccer game is the key to unlock all the answers.”

“Nick will love that. Soccer is the answer to literally everything.”

Suddenly there's cheers all around us and we redirect our attention back to the game to figure out what the heck just happened.

Apparently our goalie just prevented the other team from scoring. Go sports.

 

After the game, we find Nick so we can congratulate him on the victory. Lo and behold, Nick is with Garrett and Bram.

“Yo, Spier, Burke!” Garrett spots us first. I notice Bram nearly jump out of his skin at his sudden loudness.

“Congrats, you guys!” Leah is achieving the mission we set out to do.

“Yeah, um, congrats! You did great!” Not going to lie, I feel strangely awkward after shamelessly ogling Bram's legs for the past half hour. I mean, it's not like he'll find out. And hopefully he's not homophobic, that's all I ask.

“Th-thanks,” Bram manages to mutter out. I flash him a giant smile in return. I swear one of these days I will get him to open up. I don't think I'm an unapproachable person so maybe I could do it. This has nothing to do with how nice his legs look, I swear.

“Oh, man. That was such a tough match. I thought for sure we were gonna lose for a while there,” Nick says as he wraps his arm around my neck. “We should go to WaHo to celebrate!”

“You know I'm always down for WaHo.” I poke Nick in the side.

~~~

Junior year is off to an amazing start. Like, no sarcasm. I feel as though I'm on a high ever since I started talking to Blue and I just befriended the new girl, Abby Suso. Bonus points: we have the same first period, as do all my friends.

This is what sweet victory smells like, I'm sure of it.

...Or that's just the smell of Mr. Wise’s couch and honestly we should not be revelling in this odor. But it's infamous so you kind of have to. You cannot imagine how excited I am for this year.

I might even come ou— okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. People are still bigoted assholes. Ethan might have mastered the art of dissing bullies but it is still relentless and consistent. 

“Well, look who we have here. Nick, it's been so long.”

“I know, since like, yesterday.”

“Far too long.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “But now we must move along, life is happening.”

This gains chuckles from everyone, even Bram. Here’s the thing about Bram, he always dressed so nicely and I’m amazed by how effortless he makes it look. Maybe it is effortless and I’m just a disaster.

“Anyway, guys. This is Abby, she's in my homeroom and she's totally awesome.”

“Hi! I just moved here from D.C. Nice to meet you all,” Abby smiles. If I wasn't gay, I would be smitten. Luckily, our resident heterosexual has fulfilled what I cannot. So predictable.

There’s a bunch of mindless chatter at this point until I hear Nick point out that Garrett’s hair is back to its normal color.

“Right? It finally washed out yesterday. A shame really, purple is my color,” Garrett tells him.

“Okay, I’m sorry but what?” I know it’s rude to butt in, but I  _ have _ to know.

“Oh, dude, you will not  _ believe _ —” Garrett is unfortunately cut off by the bell ringing. I groan in frustration. This is going to kill me for the rest of the day. I notice Bram looking at me and I shrink under his gaze. I give him a sheepish smile and he quickly looks away when Garrett elbows him. Huh.

“Hello, class. As you all may know, I’m Mr. Wise and this is AP English. I thought we could start with an icebreaker activity.” Groans resonate around the room. “I know, I know. Say your name and tell me a story of something that happened this summer.”

Okay, that’s simple. Martin is going on about the summer theatre group he’s a part of. As much as I love theatre, I don’t think I could hang around that kid for too long. As soon as it’s my turn, I spit out a story about how my family visited our family friends a state over and we ended up in a surprisingly competitive match of volleyball. I mean, I sucked but I refused to accept defeat.

When it’s Garrett’s turn, I think I’ll finally learn about the hair thing. I don’t. He just tells us how he and Bram went to the beach and won a crap-ton of tickets at the arcade. I am, however, surprised when Bram speaks next.

“So, uh. Garrett neglected to mention…” He takes a deep breath. I imagine he’s super nervous to talk in front of everyone. I almost think he’s too freaked out to continue, but he speaks again. “So, on that same trip. My friends and I… put temporary purple hair dye in Garrett’s shampoo.” Everyone’s snickering at the idea of Garrett with purple hair. Honestly, I’m stunned that Bram would do something like that. He’s truly a mystery.

“Hey!” Garrett cuts through my thoughts. “Purple is a great color on me and I would totally do it again.”   
“No, it isn’t,” Bram fires back instantly. Has he always been this way? How did I miss that? He seems to notice that he said that in front of the entire class and he shrinks down a little in his chair. I want to give him, like, a reassuring thumbs up, but he won’t even look in my direction. Maybe this will be the year that he breaks out of his shell and becomes comfortable with himself.

~~~

Autocorrect will be the death of me. I probably should watch where I’m going instead of emailing Blue. But  _ goddamn _ this is frustrating. He’s totally going to hold this typo over my head for at least a century. I’m walking across the parking lot when I hit send and immediately look up to run into Bram Greenfeld. Like, literally run into him. I knock a book out of his hands. Awesome way to start Halloween.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry,” I lean down to pick up his book, but he also leans down at the same time and we knock heads. “Holy shit, I am so beyond sorry right now.”

There’s a beat of silence when we just look at each other. And wow, he has really pretty eyes. I have to physically shake myself out of my reverie. I recover first and retrieve his book for him. It’s a history textbook. “Again, I am so sorry, I should have watched where I was going.” I am such a disaster.

“I-it’s okay,” Bram manages to smile at me. It’s a timid smile that matches the softness of his eyes. He should really take a picture of that face and put it on Instagram. His notifications would blow up, for sure. A nice sense of a style and a nice face? Not fair. I literally have cat ears attached to my hoodie.

The warning bell rings and I’m reminded that we need to get to class. Bram seems to notice the same thing and we rush to English.

~~~

“I think I’m going to ask Bram Greenfeld to the Sadie Hawkins Dance,” I overhear from the other girls at the table. I forgot my headphones today so I’m hearing all kinds of things; art class is the perfect place to eavesdrop on all kinds of conversations.

“Oh my god, you would look so cute together!” One of her friends responds. My shoulders seize up. I  _ really  _ don’t want to hear about straight people and their dilemmas.

“Right? He’s a total gentleman.” True. Can we move on now? “And he’s always dressed so nicely!”

“Eh, are you sure you want to ask him though?” The third girl, Amelia Wright, pitches in.

“Um…” The first girl is taken aback by this question. “Yes. Why?”

“I mean…” She gestures with the colored pencil in her hand. “He never goes to dances and he’s apparently too focused on maintaining his grades to have a girlfriend.” She rolls her eyes as if the sheer thought of someone focusing on something other than relationships is ridiculous.

The first girl mumbles something with a dejected face when the second girl chimes back in to reassure her, “I still say you should go for it!” She claps her on the back. Apparently that’s enough to ignite a fire in her eyes and she responds with a newfound determination.

“Okay I will! You never know what he’s thinking but there’s no harm, right?”

I tune them out after this because after all, their conversation won’t change anything. Bram likes Leah, apparently. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, Leah’s great even if we aren’t speaking right now. Whatever. I wish I could unknow that. I just get so weird thinking about Bram having a crush on a girl. Which makes no sense because that is a thing and I really can’t expect the kid  _ not _ to ever like someone. But the idea of Bram liking girls and girls liking Bram leaves an unsettled feeling in my stomach.

And I can’t even write Blue an email about this since I don’t exactly have my laptop or phone. A school computer is also out of the question. I don’t know, does he think I actually like Cal instead of him because that’s honestly ridiculous. I mean, he gave me a t-shirt but he won’t approach me in person. 

I think back to the “audition” incident and blush at the memory. I guess not just girls like him. Wait. No. That's— no, it's ridiculous. He is probably the cutest guy in our grade but I  _ do not _ have a crush on him.  _ He's straight _ , I remind myself.  _ And I'm virtually a taken man. _ I would never break my rule of not crushing on straight boys. That's far too much torture for my gay ass. It's like I want to be heartbroken.

_ But he's never dated anyone. _ Okay, plenty of people have never been in a relationship. That doesn't make them gay. I mean, he could be like Blue and never dated a girl because he knows he's gay.

_ Blue. _ I can't compare Bram to Blue. Fuck. I like Blue, an actual gay kid from Creekwood. 

Bram's face from soccer tryouts rushes to the forefront of my mind.  _ No. _ I can't like Bram Greenfeld. That makes everything awkward. When I liked Cal, it was because I thought he  _ was _ Blue. I feel nauseated all over again about guessing wrong. If only things were different. I sigh and think of Bram. Sweet Bram deserves better than me crushing on him.

No. That’s ridiculous. I can’t have a crush on Bram. I think of his soft eyes and realize that I might be a tiny bit lost in the thought of those gorgeous eyes. This is bad. I shouldn’t be thinking of this. If only I knew who Blue was then I could ignore this.

~~~

I always knew Bram had nice hands but the feeling of his hand in mine feels right. Like this is exactly where my hand belongs. In his. For as long as I can manage.

“I did like you,” I blurt out and now it's in the open.

Bram fixates the cutest confused face on me and I feel frozen under his gaze. He seems unsure as he asks me what I mean.

“You said you were only seeing what you wanted to see and that I would have guessed. But like,” I tilt my head up to look at the moon hanging in the sky. “Every time I saw you I felt like you were this huge mystery. I guess I'm bad at reading other people but I did always want to be your friend. Also, you're way more cute and grammatical in person.” I turn my gaze back on Bram's face and he's just staring with slightly parted lips. I wonder if I could just kiss him now but suddenly I'm feeling self-conscious. And we're in public.

“You're intimidating,” Bram adverts his eyes but I can see him smiling.

I don’t get to dwell too much on his words because my mom chooses that exact moment to call me to remind me that I need to be home. I sigh and give Bram a hopeful smile. “So… I’ll see you tomorrow?” I squeeze his hand before I have to let go and we part ways.

~~~

“What’s that?” I ask as I take a seat next to Leah at the cafeteria lunch table.

“Oh, look who’s actually joining us for once,” she shoots back. 

“Rude. Offensive. I am here more often than not.”

Leah can hardly contain her laughter. “Okay.” I poke her cheek.

“Come on, tell me what you’re drawing!”

“I literally couldn’t help myself. I’m drawing Chat Noir from Miraculous Ladybug. He’s Cat Son and I love him.” She lets me get a better look at the drawing. It just a sketch so far but I can make out a boy with cat ears on top of his head and shaggy hair smirking back at me. “He’s an actual cinnamon roll and I will fight you,” she adds.

“Why are we fighting Simon?”

_ Bram. _ I can’t help the widest smile from forming on my face. I really love this new Bram. Well, he’s not new. But this version of Bram who actually talks at lunch and always adds the best commentary. I might be biased. But he’s perfection in a zippy hoodie.

“Look!” I gesture to Leah’s sketchbook and she turns it over so Bram can see what she’s drawn.

“This is my cat son. Chat Noir. Adrien Agreste. The most adorable superhero to ever exist.” At the word superhero, I see Bram grow more attentive. It’s subtle but I can see his interest has piqued.

“Where’s he from?”

“Miraculous Ladybug,” Leah says proudly. “It’s an adorable French cartoon about the superhero duo Ladybug and Chat Noir. There’s a love square because they’re lovable idiots.”

Bram is instantly sold. Before I know it, Leah is sending Bram a link where he can watch the series and he looks so excited. I just. Seeing my boyfriend (!!!) and best friend bonding is just the best thing I’ve ever seen. I wish I could capture this moment forever.

“Simon!” Leah claps in my face and I jump back in surprise. “Pay attention.” I’m about to refute her statement but her glare tells me that if I contradict her, I will be sorry. “We’ve volunteered your living room so we can watch Miraculous Ladybug.”

“What? Why my living room?”

“Because obviously you’re going to crack eventually and watch it so we’re just speeding up the process.” Bram honest to god giggles at our exchange. He is too cute. “So. Tomorrow after school, your living room. Be there. I’m making cake pops.”

“Deal.”

~~~

I love seeing the excited glimmer in Bram's eyes when he tells me about the book he just finished. This is the best part of our relationship; the times where Bram is unabashedly talking about his favorite things. The first few times he would freeze when he realized what he was doing and his eyes would rival the size of the moon. I didn't know what could have been causing that nervousness. I love the sound of his voice and the way he speaks so freely about the things he loves. I could listen to him for hours and never be bored once.

But looking at him now he's just so excited about this book. He’s the most beautiful thing in this world and I almost can’t believe he’s actually real and here in my house.

“You should read it,” Bram gets off the couch to grab his bag.

“Or…” I begin to say when he produces the book.

“Or?” Oh no. He looks like he's trying to hide his disappointment. He really thinks…

“Or you could… read it… to me?” I hate that my voice gets smaller and smaller. I'm full on flushing at this point I can't believe I asked him that. Bram’s face is unreadable and I can’t tell what he’s thinking. The silence stretches between us and I really don’t know what to do now. I’ve made everything awkward and I really think he’s going to make fun of me for being childish. I mean, he wouldn’t do that. But he might.

I’m about to tell him to forget it when he interrupts me, “Are you sure?”

His adorable pleading eyes are all I need to regret even thinking of telling him to forget it.

“I… uh, yeah. I am. I love your voice.” I see a huge dopey grin on Bram’s face before he covers his face with the book. I get up from my spot to uncover his face and give him a chaste kiss. “Abraham.” He meets my gaze. “Please read to me? I’ll make you some cocoa.”

He laughs and the sound resonates throughout my soul. “Are you sure you’re not just being lazy?”

“I’m serious!” I pout and turn abruptly when I see him get closer. He kisses my jaw anyway. “If you read me my textbooks, I’d do way better in math.”

“You’re passing math,” he chuckles against my ear.

“Barely! You’re very distracting!”

“Mm, I’ve heard that before.” He draws back and I see that mischievous look on his face.

“Shut up, you said I was distracting too!” I bury my face in his shoulder.

“I quickly learned that that was your favorite pastime.”

“Hrmph!” I stick my nose in the air and storm out of the room.

“Simoooonnnnn.” Bram follows me into the kitchen. “Don’t leave meeeeeee.” He hugs me from behind and I can’t help but giggle at his antics.

“Shush, I’m making cocoa because I am a man of my word.”

He kisses the back of my neck. “I love you.”

I shiver and turn in his embrace. “Good. Then that means you’ll read to me so I can listen to your gorgeous voice.” I nibble at his lip before I whisper, “I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to Shortie291 and LadyMephistopheles for being my co-conspirators and supporting my idea from its conception. <3  
> The title comes from Josh Ramsay's song "We Should Be Friends" which I think is a fitting song for Bram and Simon. Seriously. Go listen to it and try to tell me that song doesn't fit them.  
> [tumblr.](http://geneticallymutatedglitter.tumblr.com)


End file.
